SEAT 127, the best-selling car in the year Tiburon was released…, and other “things” happened

And speaking of changes, at FIAT, then parent company of SEAT, a few years before (in the mid-sixties), we were working to move from “all at the rear” (engine and propulsion) of the 500, 600 and 850 utility vehicles, to “all at the front”, that is to say the engine and traction to manufacture more modern cars.

Giacosa’s commitment

Dante Giacosa (1905-1996) He graduated in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1927. and immediately joined FIAT. He began his career as a designer, becoming head of the automobile technical department in 1933, head of the higher automobile technical department in 1955, then division director and member of the company’s board of directors in 1966.

I was particularly interested in the front wheel drive. Many manufacturers used a longitudinal engine layout. However, Alec Issigonis launched the Mini in the late 1950s, fitted with a transverse four-cylinder engine to provide sufficient interior space while maintaining a compact length, with the gearbox located below the engine.

In 1961, Dante Giacosa concluded that the transverse engine should integrate the gearbox and clutch on the same shaft. This solution had many advantages: manufacturing motors and gearboxes separately to limit production costs, reducing friction, wear, weight and bulk by eliminating the use of return chains. Thus Project 109 was born. The design of the bodywork was entrusted to Mario Boano, former owner of Carrozzeria Ghia, a company he had acquired in 1947 and which FIAT hired in 1957. The bodywork was to incorporate a tailgate and tracks of 1.33 m at the front and 1.29 m at the rear.

But at FIAT, some feared that an unforeseen technical problem could discredit the brand and ruin its balance sheets. Gianni Agnelli, grandson of Giovanni Agnelli and heir to the FIAT empire, is not enthusiastic; He had an accident while driving a front-wheel drive car. Carlo Salamano, head of the testing department since 1916, is betting on the abandonment of the project.

Vittorio Valetta, who then chaired the FIAT group, made the final decision: this car would be manufactured at the Desio factory, it would be an Autobianchi, not a FIAT. The Autobianchi brand had been co-founded by Fiat in 1955 with Pirelli and Edoardo Bianchi. This is how the Autobianchi Prímula was born (Nello Vallechi, general director of Autobianchi, who named it).

El Primula convinced Tirín officials that “all ahead” was the future. This is how in 1968, the FIAT 128 was presented. In addition to the engine and front-wheel drive, it had modern independent suspension on all four wheels.

Three years later, in 1971, the time came to present the successor to the 850 to the public. It was called Fiat 127 and took full advantage of the technology of the 128: a transverse engine coupled to front-wheel drive, independent suspension on all four wheels and front disc brakes. By the way, that engine, located up front, was an old acquaintance, the 903 cc four-cylinder that powered the 850 Sport Coupe. Although slightly inferior in power, it demonstrated its robustness, efficiency and responsiveness.

The design of Pio Manzù

The great success of the Fiat 127 does not only owe to its technical innovations. Its aesthetic would also play an important role. Just as the 128 laid the foundations for front-wheel drive at Fiat, the 127 introduced the bold idea of ​​external design collaborations. It was Dante Giacosa, the legendary director of the Fiat Styling Center, who convinced the Turin management of the advantages of this choice.

The innovative design of the new Fiat utility vehiclecame from the pen of Pio Manzù, who excited Giacosa with its original proposals such as the Fiat City Taxi presented at the Turin Motor Show in 1968.

For the future 127, Manzù designed a two-seater sedan with dimensions barely larger than those of the previous 850, but characterized by a particularly spacious and bright interior. The new technical platform offers more space, with four comfortable seats and a larger trunk volume, thanks in particular to the location of the spare wheel in the engine compartment. In addition to functionality, Manzù gave the 127 an original style, with original solutions, such as the shell-shaped hood that partially surrounds the wings and the rectangular headlights, or the belt line, in which the side windows marked an ascending line towards the rear.

Immediate success with the press and the public as well as with professionals, the year following its launch it was voted Car of the Year in Europe.

In Spain

In 1972, when we Spaniards discovered it behind the windows of SEAT dealerships. For the Spanish house, it was a revolution in every sense of the word. Not only was it the first SEAT with front-wheel drive, but also the first for the brand to incorporate rack-and-pinion steering and a front axle with McPherson suspension. The latter is a first not only for SEAT, but also in Spain.

The SEAT 127 is presented to the press in Lanzarote. in April 1972, narrowly ahead of its great rival, the Renault 5 (good cars like great people do their best when they have a great rival in front of them…). The 127 and the R 5 were both the pioneers of what we today call the B segment. It is true that front-wheel drive was already present in national production with models like the Citroën 2 CV and the Renault 4L, but these were models considered more rustic. And the Morris 1100 and Simca 1200 (both 1969) as well as the Renault 12, also front-wheel drive) were models in the upper segment.

We said that the 127 was presented in April 1972. And it did so with a two-door body and an independent trunk which, with its no less than 365 liters, for those who came from a 600 or an 850, it was a real gift when traveling. But the trunk lid wasn’t very big and the R5 had a practical tailgate…. A few months later, the three-door hatchback version was added to the 127.

As we indicated, The 127 had the 903 engine from the 850 Sportbut very modified. In particular, the lubrication of the main frame and the connecting rod heads was no longer done by the crankshaft, but in the classic way, from the supports of the main frame. To reduce consumption, the compression is lowered from 9.5 to 9 and a single-barrel carburetor replaces the double-barrel carburetor. This comes back to the 47 hp of the 850 Special, but with more torque at low and mid revs. The 127 reached 140 km/h and, with its 30 liter tank, could cover around 400 kilometers and even up to 500 with gentle manipulation of the accelerator.

Radial tires were fitted as standard which, combined with front-wheel drive, well-tuned suspensions and rack-and-pinion steering, provided safety and driving sensations unthinkable in the all-rear 600 and 850.

In addition, the Luxury version will soon appear, with alternator, heated rear window, tinted and articulated rear windows and front seats with reclining backrests.

Our article began in 1975. In the fall of that year, the 127 LS appeared. It has undergone a series of cosmetic modifications. The grille is different, abandoning the honeycomb design to adopt that of small rectangles considered more modern. In addition, the rear window was larger in 2- and 4-door bodies with a separate trunk, rubber reinforcements on the bumpers, in addition to greater protection, slightly extended the length, and side protection (made of chrome rod and rubber) also appeared, an exterior mirror was incorporated in the left door, a reversing light and a new fuel cap. And the changes weren’t just external. Inside, the dashboard, steering wheel and dashboard have been modified with a new anti-glare visor. And the windshield wipers were no longer activated by a rubber button, but were electric.

As in 1973, after the Yom Kippur War between Arabs and Israelis in October of the same year, the world had been shaken by a sudden rise in the price of oil, SEAT, like other brands, would launch versions where economy prevailed, lowering engine compression to use “normal” gasoline, the cheapest.

The “four doors”

But there was another change, a very important one. In Italy after World War II, the most economical cars (Topolino, 500, 600, 850 and 127) had two-door bodies. The Italian public had become accustomed to it, but in Spain the French brands were present with small cars with four-door bodies. And SEAT, faced with this competition, had already launched, without equivalent at FIAT, the 800 (the four-door 600) and the four-door 850.

And with the 127 he did the same operation. Thus, in February 1974, a specific bodywork for the four-door 127 appeared.. Unlike what was done with the 600 and 850 (lengthening of the body), with the 127, the same wheelbase and the same total length were retained. So there was no change in size and the structural dimensions were also not very large, except on the sides, to accommodate two doors on each side instead of one. The four-door 127, which weighed between 15 and 20 kilos more than the three-door, would receive all the new features incorporated in the LS and CL versions.

And that same year the Commercial version appeared, based on the three-door, with the rear windows replaced by metal sheets and without a rear seat.

And here we leave this story of half a century ago, that of the SEAT 127, the best-selling car in Spain in 1975, when “Jaws” came out and other “things” happened…

Many changes awaited this 127, like Spain.